Category: Health and Safety for Contractors

The slow recovery of the construction industry could result in the loss of engineering contractor skills, it has been claimed.

Potential funding cuts across by government could result in public sector contractor opportunities disappearing before the private sector has a chance to recover, according to Construction Skills Network (CSN).

Figures from the skills council forecast that employment across the industry will drop by 375,000 between 2008 and 2010, but will recoup less than 100,000 workers by 2014.

However, the organisation suggested that the Olympics and Building Schools for the Future programme will provide a significant stream of work in the short term.

Mark Farrar, chief executive of CSN, said: "The construction industry needs to ensure it avoids long term skills shortages when the industry returns to growth.

"It is imperative that a level of recruitment is maintained in these difficult times if the industry is to respond in the right way when growth returns."

Recent figures from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) indicate that less than half of firms expect workloads to decline further in the first three months of 2010.